Well, maybe she outlived her time. Maybe she was a museum piece, but she never lost her dignity, nor sold her guns.
– She hung on to her pride and went out in style. That’s the kind of an old gal I’d like to meet.
John Wayne as J.B. Books referring to Queen Victoria, The Shootist screenplay
Americans, some of us, long for the days of isolationism, when the US, guarded by two oceans, could avoid entanglements from the rest of the world. One of the main reasons we could do so was the British Empire, a force, usually, for stability throughout the world. Having freed ourselves from the British Empire in the American Revolution, and underlining that independence in the War of 1812, we largely benefited from the British Empire in keeping away from our shores the need to be involved in great power struggles. That world came to an end with the two world wars that bankrupted Britain and made her Empire an expensive luxury she could no longer maintain. History proceeds and the page is turned.
Most historians note that she changed markedly, and not for the better, after Albert died. The fragile peace among Russia, Germany, and Great Britain also died with her eventually without her influence.
My two favorite Victoria stories:
When I was in Britain in the 1980s, there were still postal pillars with the initials VRI: Victoria Regina Imperatrix: Victoria Queen and Empress (of India). As she aged BTW she look more and more like her grandfather George III.